Australian TV Plays: The Teeth of the Wind (2 May 1962)

One of the six new TV plays by Australian authors in 1962. Written by John Cameron who did Outpost.

Premise

In a new African republic, Zambotu, a United Nations force holds the elected president and vice president in protective custody under the responsibility of an Australian officer Frank Andrews, who is leading a United Nations Command.

The officer romances Dr Pearson, makes friends with some people experienced with Africa (Kurt Ludescher and Mary Ward), and meets President Ngimba (Keith Eden). Ngimba is English educated and was voted into power by a large majority. The colonists favor the vice president, Kurobe.

Ngimba and Kurobe are held in protective custody following clashes between supporters of both. Andrews hears arguments from his friends, Peter and Mary Vender, experienced in Africa. He also hears from Peter Vender ia mining tycoon opposed to local independence who is a supporter of Kurobe. A doctor, Pearson, makes Andrews realise that the people support Zambotu.

The UN releases Kurobe but Andrews has to keep Nigmba in custody. Andrews grows more sympathetic to Ngimba. Ngimba's supporters march on the presidential palace to release him and Frank Andrews considers ordering his troops to open fire. He decides to lay down his arms and the locals take charge. The weapons are used to kill some women.

Cast

Alan Hopgood as Frank Andrews
Roly Barlee as Kandaro
Keith Eden as President Ngimba
Joan Harris as Doctor Pearson
Kurt Ludescher as Peter Vender
Mary Ward as Mary Vender

Production

The play was John Cameron's follow up to his successful Outpost. He was audio supervisor at the ABC. The play was announced as part of the six plays in March 1962.

It was based on the experience of Dr Ivan Smith, an Australian who worked as Chief United Nations representative during the Congo Crisis in November 1961. He had been attacked by mobs and had to be rescued.

Cameron said, "the play attempts to explore the problem in human terms rather than the stark black and white of an ideological or racial clash. It examines the tragedy of people caught up in this conflict, each conscious of his own rights, each resentful of the claimed conflicting rights of others."

Cameron said "the play is essentially about people forced into an environment of crisis rather than the stark black and white issue of a racial clash. I looked for the sort of tough military situation in which a certain decision cold result in a court martial, but with circumstances that could win sympathy for the officer."

"The Congo was very much in the news at the time and I had met some South Africans when I worked in Canada a few years ago. I disucssed their problems and heard both sides of the question. So The Teeth of the Wind is set "somewhere in Africa" and deals with conflicting interests between two cultures co-existing within the one country."

It was shot in Melbourne directed by Chris Muir.

Cameron later wrote in his memoirs about the production:

Our first ballet was a studio production of “Les Sylphides”. It was memorable because the producer, Chris Muir, decided to cover the ballet with a single camera to avoid the distraction of cutting between cameras in a traditionally fluid presentation. He made great demands of the operator of the camera crane and his support staff, but they rose to the occasion, and the production remains in my mind as one of the best film coverages of ballet I have seen.

Some years later in 1962, the same producer was assigned to a play I had written with less happy results. It was after the Sharpeville massacre in Africa, and I decided to write a play on the black and white problem then emerging there. To point up the problem, I counted on viewers instinctively sympathising with a white man, who was nonetheless in the wrong, and I gave to the leading black man all the best arguments but planned for them to be overstated in performance to weaken their effect.

I was horrified when I went to the first rehearsal to find that Chris had cast as the leading white, a distinguished New Australian actor with an engaging Continental accent. For many of our audience at that time he was “a bloody refugee” for whom there was antipathy rather than an instinctive sympathy. As there was no suitable black actor for the other main part, Chris engaged a well-known Australian actor, Keith Eden, who would have a black make-up. Chris brushed aside my apprehensions and assured me that it would be alright on the night.

When I attended a camera rehearsal, I discovered that Keith was playing all-out for sympathy, instead of over-playing his strongly-written case. I complained to Chris, who said he was too busy to change anything, but I that I had his permission to talk to Keith. Keith told me that it was too late to change things, and he went to air as a black Jesus Christ. The critics had a field-day. They roundly berated the author for his simplistic view of a complex problem. “Teeth of the Wind” was my second play; I had been so lucky with my first, I was due for a bad break.

Other adaptations

The story was recorded for ABC radio in 1963. It played again in 1964.

Reception

Frank Roberts of the Bulletin gave the play a harsh review saying "the net result was neither drama nor documentary. It was Blue Hills moved to Africa, but with a less accurate presentation of the pros and cons than Gwen Meredith provides in her more intense moments. And if the ABC pays £200 for nothing better than this, I know one licence holder who will complain bitterly. Without the something more mentioned earlier, the position for TV play writing here could not be more ridiculous than if the United Nations were to offer Ngimba’s people shipments of washing machines and refrigerators, complete with instruction books, but without a spark of electricity or a single engineer, doctor, hygiene expert, and so on. Ngimba’s untutored could be expected to keep chooks in the refrigerators and corn in the washing machines, and the ABC’s untutored playwrights throughout Australia can be expected to do much the same with the current offer.”

What a horrible person Roberts was. I wonder if his whining about Australian writing was responsible for the pushback against Australian writers in 1963-1964 (before Homicide turned that around.)